AltaSea: Trending – October 11, 2017

Thirteen thousand feet deep, on the cold, dark desert of the Pacific Ocean seafloor, scientists have discovered new sponges living on rock nodules targeted for deep-sea mining.

The tiny sponges, named Plenaster craigi partly for the multitude of stars that make up their backbones, belong in a genus of their own and are the most abundant organism found to date that live on the nodules

Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European commission, said a tax would “not be sustainable”, but that changing the way plastic was produced and used could work. “The only sustainable method is to create recyclable plastic and take out microplastics. You can’t take out microplastics with a tax. You need to make sure things are reused, and not put in the ocean.”

Like coral reefs, sea anemones—with their flashy, tentacle-like polyps that waggle and wave in vibrant reds, greens, pinks, and yellows—provide homes and hiding spots for dozens of fish species, most memorably the orange clownfish made famous in Finding Nemo. Also like coral, rising water temperatures associated with climate change can severely weaken these anemones, causing them to expel the tiny symbionts that keep them alive and lend them color, a process known as bleaching.

Philanthropist and businessman Morton La Kretz and AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles have signed a grant agreement to create and fund the La Kretz Blue Economy Incubator.

Morton La Kretz was a major funder of the downtown Los Angeles headquarters of the LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI) which opened last year. Both non-profit incubators are designed to nurture promising business startups with office space, consulting support, business connections, and financial assistance. The La Kretz Blue Economy Incubator will focus on technology companies creating sustainable business models connected with the ocean.

Two miles off the coast of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach not far from where the powerful currents of the bay pour into the Pacific Ocean under the Golden Gate Bridge, a beacon in the water is collecting hyper-local data about the ocean in preparation for a major event.

The data, a first for a Red Bull Heavy Water event, will give athletes, such as pro-paddle boarder Kai Lenny, and spectators information about what’s going on above and below the surface. That includes everything from a heat map of wave height and direction to current strength and visual GPS data.

Niue, a tiny South Pacific island nation with a population of roughly 1,600, has turned 40 percent of its exclusive economic zone into a marine park, and Chile added two new marine parks where fishing and all other extractive activities are banned.

Together, the three new parks protect some 290,000 square miles of ocean—an area more than twice the size of Germany.

National Geographic is a pioneer in the forefront of photographic imagery, and they have long introduced people to the unknown and unseen corners of the globe with the use of stunning images and video footage. And now, National Geographic is raising the bar even higher with the introduction of a new aquarium in Times Square. But this is no ordinary aquarium; this aquarium is created with the use of technology and features no live animals.

The experience is called Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, and it takes visitors on a mesmerizing tour into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. You can walk through coral reefs, witness giant squid and massive schools of fish envelop around you, interact with marine mammals, and see sharks up close and personal.

For at least the past 1,000 years, the surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean have undergone a series of warmer and cooler phases, each lasting about 20 to 40 years and differing by a maximum of about 0.5°C. Known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), this pattern influences Atlantic hurricanes, Arctic sea ice, and European summer climate, as well as rainfall and droughts worldwide. What’s more, it can obscure or amplify the effects of global climate change.

Although the AMO is well documented, the underlying mechanism that drives it is unknown and remains up for debate. In a new study, Zhang presents compelling findings in support of the idea that ocean dynamics play a central role in the AMO.

Join Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and visit the Beach’s own wetland habitat, Salinas de San Pedro, and discover the plants and animals that call it home! Using binoculars, magnifying glasses and other tools, CMA Educators and volunteers will help you observe and explore this habitat. Or simply sit back, watch the tide change and listen to the birds and other wildlife. Free and open to all ages.